These are the keys to a Bengals rebound – Cincinnati Benegals News

The Cincinnati Bengals are counting on Cedric Ogbuehi having a better season at left tackle than he did on the right side in 2016.(Photo: Sam Greene/The Enquirer)

It’s time for The Club to pass the torch to The Men (and FCC) as it applies to the local sports hearts and minds and wallets. Which is a little ironic, given baseball is in high gear and football is barely pulling on its pads.

That speaks to the vise-grip the NF of L has on fans, locally and nationally, and to the Reds being unable to hold our attention beyond July for yet another year.

Personally, I’ll take six months of daily drama (big and small) over the overhyped Event nature of the NFL. But I’m in the minority. And we haven’t even mentioned the dawn of the Luke Era. So. . .

AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING APOLOGIST-IC… I said this late last season, and I’ll say it now: It’s very possible the 2016 Men simply had One of Those Years, when not much goes right. Mike Nugent went south, AJ got hurt, close games got lost etc. This happens in the NFL (ask the Panthers or the Ravens) because the league’s vast and bloated middle class includes at least 20 teams that aren’t much different from each other. Breaks, injuries, a play or two each game and one team is 10-6 while another is 6-9-1.

The ’16 schedule did the Bengals no favors. Three of their first six games were against Pittsburgh, Dallas and the Patriots, on the road. London was Game 8. This year, the first two – Ravens, Texans – are at home, as are 4 of the first 6. Game 4 is at Cleveland, so 3-1 isn’t a stretch.